SAILS Professor Gerard van Westen tells us about his first 100 days 'in the office'.

A bacterium hiding from the immune system and picking up bits of DNA from its environment. The result: gaining new traits, such as better protection against antibiotics. Fortunately, we have not found such a damning scenario yet. However, PhD student Renée Kapteijn did find the first clues, which…

PhD student Willem Noteborn has investigated supramolecular structures. These can be useful for the loading of medicines and signalling molecules regarding, for example, cellular differentiation. In his thesis, he describes the functioning of these structures.

Carolyn Nakamura works as a postdoctoral researcher on the profile area Global Interactions.

As many as seven first-year students from the Faculty of Science were honoured as young talents. In addition, the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW) also lauded three master's students and an astronomy project during a vibrant ceremony on 28 November. Professor of Science Communication…

Antibiotic resistance is an economic problem. Pharmaceutical companies cannot earn much from antibiotic research, so they do not invest in it. This makes it important that universities do so, says Ned Buijs.

Roll-up solar panels, bendable phone displays, or better computer chips… The EU project STIBNITE investigated the next generation of semiconductors, made from organic materials based on carbon, nitrogen, and boron. The project has now concluded. During the Open Science Debate on 1 July, the group will…

Make a difference! Join the interdisciplinary Minor Sustainable Development and learn everything about the challenges we are facing and how to find solutions. Discover your sustainable future!

A new paramagnetic probe has been synthesized and applied to proteins.

Dong Guo was awarded two poster prizes for his poster ‘Molecular Mechanism of Allosteric modulation at G protein-coupled Receptors: Insight from a Binding Kinetics Study at the Human A1 Adenosine Receptor’ at the FIGON Dutch Medicines Days, October 6th-8th this year.

Current means of fighting bacteria are no longer as good as they used to be because of antibiotic resistance. These days, people are dying from bacterial infections that could have been cured fifty years ago.

Two years after the first conference, the Napels based Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Polymers, together with a consortium of organisations and research institutes, organised the second conference from 15 to 18 September in Capri, Italy.

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research has awarded Leiden astronomer Giovanni Rosotti a Veni grant for research into very young exoplanets. This grant offers young researchers the possibility to develop their innovative ideas for a period of three or four years.

Professor Bert Meijer has been reappointed as a member of Leiden University’s Board of Governors by the Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Ingrid van Engelshoven.

After many years, Peter Hamersma will retire and resign as Programme Director for the BSc Molecular Science & Technology. His successor is Volkert van Steijn, who will start this new challenge per September 1st.

Many of our staff and students have won prizes over the past year. Others have been awarded a subsidy, or, because of their eminence in their field, they have been appointed member of an academic society or have taken on a position in the community. Reasons enough to be proud of them and to include…

How do you achieve the structural change needed for a more inclusive university community? What challenges do female staff face in their careers and what does it take to be a woman in a leadership role? This is what over 40 female staff members from the university discussed on International Women’s…

The Dick Stufkens Prijs for the best PhD thesis of the Holland Research School of Molecular Chemistry (HRSMC) has been awarded to Dr Tatu S. Kumpulainen for his thesis “Proton-Transfer Reactions in ‘Super’ Photoacids and Supramolecular Assemblies”. It describes his innovative research into methods for…

Photosynthesis is the origin of life on earth, but it is a phenomenon that is still barely understood. Take, for example, the extremely efficient mechanism of electron transport. Leiden researchers demonstrate for the first time where one particular cause of this might be found.

What is it like to participate in the Erasmus+ grant programme as a Master's student from Ukraine? Yevhenii Radchenko did an eight-month internship at Leiden University in 2018. Soon after, he returned as a PhD candidate. 'You have little to lose, but a lot to gain.'

Observations made with the ALMA telescope in Chile and ESA’s Rosetta mission, have detected the faint molecular fingerprint of methyl chloride in gas, a chemical commonly produced by industrial biological processes on Earth, around both an infant star and a comet. Methyl chloride, also known as Freon-40,…

What started as an idea during a social gathering led to an unexpected breakthrough in research on resistant bacteria. Biologists and chemists from Leiden developed a new substance that proves to be effective against bacteria resistant to antibiotics. They published their discovery in Nature Chemist…

Researchers led by Professor of Chemistry Marcellus Ubbink have recently published a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) about the dynamics of an important redox enzyme. This work was accomplished thanks to an NWO VICI subsidy granted to Professor Ubbink.

On September 9th 2009, the study Life Science and Technology (LS&T) celebrates its 10th anniversary. In 1999, a group of enthusiastic pioneers within the Technical University Delft (TUD) and Leiden University (LU) founded a novel study based on the biotechnological expertise of research institutes within…

The Oncode Institute is a new international network organisation that focuses on making sure that new scientific findings on cancer are implemented in patients as rapidly as possible. Two young female researchers at Leiden University have been selected to join Oncode: Laura Heiman (Leiden Academic…

Chemist Alexander Kros and astronomer Joop Schaye are two of the four Leiden researchers who have been awarded a Vici as part of NWO's Innovation Research Incentives scheme. They each have 1.5 million euros to set up a research group and employ PhD candidates.

Leiden physicist Bernard van Heck is one of the seven young Dutch scientists who will be travelling to the 65th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. Promising young scholars from all over the world have the opportunity to meet with Nobel Prize winners at this famous science conference.

The 18.8 million euro NWO Zwaartekracht grant for quantum software which Amsterdam, Delft and Leiden landed collectively, means for Leiden University among others the appointment of two new permanent scientific staff members, who will each form their own research group, divided among Computer Science,…

Which Italian student likes raw herring, but does not know Sinterklaas? During the Leiden Science Buddy Welcome Borrel, international students and their buddies found out over drinks and while playing a special bingo game.

In a global effort, quantum computers are rapidly being developed. In the meantime, researchers have to learn how to write code for these devices, which are fundamentally different from conventional computers. A collaboration of scientists led by Google, and including physicists from Leiden and Delft,…

New Chinese CSC PhD’s are welcomed at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry. On the 28th of September 2012 a three week introduction program started especially for this new incoming group of scientists.

The European PANVIPREP research project started at the Leiden University Medical Center on 11 March. The participants are virologists, biochemists and pharmacists from 14 European countries. Their mission is to develop antiviral drugs to protect Europe during pandemics. At least two such antivirals…

Key research articles and book chapters of the Chromatin group.

Methods of treatment for chronic illnesses are limited. Doctors and researchers at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Leiden University are working on new therapies as an alternative for organ transplants. The goal is to cure the illnesses by restoring organs to their original function. Stem…

Leiden University encourages all its laboratories to obtain LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework) accreditation.

Electrolysis is a technique that can be used to convert CO2 into fuels and other useful products. To do this efficiently and on a large scale, however, we need to understand exactly how electrolysis works. Professor Marc Koper is an expert in this field.

From educational adventures in the tropics, students building software for real customers, to bacteria that degrade plastics. Scroll through our highlights on educational innovation and the achievements of our students.

These podcast episodes were written for the Green Office’s Spring Podcast competition and miniseries 'Beyond the Safe Space', on the theme: the Planetary Boundaries, which took place between the months of March-May 2023.

The Chemical Probe Facility is part of the Leiden Early Drug Discovery & Development (LED3) center. Activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) is one of the pillars of chemical biology. ABPP determines the activity of entire protein families in living cells and tissues under physiological conditions, such…

Working for a top faculty? Discover the vacancies at the Faculty of Science and apply immediately.

Through metabolism, biochemical processes give rise to the complexity of life. Acquired and inborn errors in metabolism underlie many diseases occurring in man. The challenge for present day medical biochemistry is to find, and integrate, pieces of information at molecular, cell and organismal level…

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In a lot of research on education, general didactic principles are applied to a particular area of study. ‘But every field of study also has its own ways of thinking’, argues professor Fred Janssen. ‘If you can identify those ways of thinking, then you have a lot of indicators for how you can best organise…

Beowulf clusters looking for new frontiers.

The Faculty of Science adopted an action plan Diversity and Inclusiveness in 2015. In this action plan, the Faculty commits to a number of actions to further improve diversity and inclusion for staff and students, such as more female full professors at the faculty, and encourages initiatives that foster…

We depend on nature for so many things: from clean water, wood and food to carbon absorption, water purification and coastal protection, as well as for relaxation, inspiration and identity. Nevertheless, our modern world putting increasing pressure on these ecosystem services. Leiden researchers investigate…

The oldest university in the Netherlands was founded on 8 February 1575 in the Pieterskerk in Leiden. This was at the time of the Eighty Years’ War with the uprising of the northern provinces against domination by the Spanish.

Huub de Groot is professor in Biophysical Organic Chemistry. With his team he works in the field of photosynthesis and artificial photosynthesis. The molecular basis for photosynthesis is formed by protein complexes and organelles that contain chlorophyll molecules. The antenna systems herein capture…

The two-years MSc programme spans the entire spectrum of Analytical BioSciences, Biopharmaceutics, Drug Delivery Technology, Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacology and Toxicology.

The University Libraries provide access to a wealth of information: from e-journals, e-books and databases to printed material. The libraries are more than just a gateway. As a service organization we also help researchers find information, manage their data, assess the best places to publish their…